Boeing Completes Successful FAB-T Preliminary Design Review
The Boeing [NYSE: BA] Family of Advanced Beyond-line-of-sight Terminals (FAB-T) program has successfully completed a Preliminary Design Review, a key milestone as the program moves forward.
Attended by more than 150 Boeing, senior government and industry officials, the review, held in Anaheim, Calif., in September, demonstrated that Boeing and its industry team have successfully incorporated schedule and requirement changes that are part of the program's new baseline. The four-day review included presentations from systems, software and hardware teams.
"We're on track to execute this program," said Jim Dodd, Boeing FAB-T program manager.
The FAB-T family includes software-defined radios, antennas and associated user interface hardware that will provide the government with a powerful system capable of hosting a multitude of waveforms that accommodate data rates in excess of 300 megabits per second. Once operational, FAB-T will provide critical, secure beyond line-of-sight communications capability for warfighters via various satellites that support military forces.
FAB-T also is the first survivable Software Communications Architecture (SCA)-compliant communications system. SCA compliance enables waveforms developed on the FAB-T program to be ported to other SCA-compliant radios and FAB-T to host waveforms provided by other parties. The benefits to the government of an SCA-compliant terminal result from savings associated with the elimination of new hardware and software development costs previously incurred to support new applications and requisite waveforms.
FAB-T is designed to provide strategic forces with a multi-mission capable family of software-defined radios that use a common open system architecture to link to different satellites and enable information exchange between ground, air and space platforms. The initial development phase involves creating a FAB-T system that will fulfill operational terminal requirements for the Milstar and Advanced EHF satellite systems. Increment 2 will develop terminals to support Wideband Gapfiller System operations on surveillance aircraft including Global Hawk and Predator, with other platforms to follow.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $30.8 billion business. It provides network-centric system solutions to its global military, government, and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer; a foremost developer of advanced concepts and technologies; a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in sustainment solutions and launch services.
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